The Gardens span up a pretty steep hill/mountain so we started at the top and then drove to the bottom so they could enjoy the majority of the gardens without us having to walk all the way up and then back down again. You might call it lazy but we like to call it efficient.
I tried to get a group picture but they were all too excited to get together for 20 seconds so I have individual shots. This is young Zachary, obviously.
The beautiful Miss Kae
Sean boy, who wouldn't even look at me.
Vanna Mei's best smile especially for you.
There is a large obelisk at the top that I'm sure has some significance to the island's history or unique form of Catholicism, but I can't remember what it is. Also the sign is in Portuguese.
Right as we were getting ready to drive down, we smelled THE smell that everyone dreads and started looking at the bottom of everyone's shoes. Sure enough Savanna was the carrier of some stinky mess. So with the help of LOTS of baby wipes we cleaned up as best we could and headed to the entrance to the gardens.
This is the gate at the entrance.
I sat on a bench with Zach and the kids pretty much ran for 20 minutes. Chasing pigeons, smelling flowers or just plain running.
I tried to snap a picture of Vanna and she was almost too fast for me.
One of the coolest things I've seen here is the ingenuity of brooms. I have never seen this, maybe some of you have but it's new to me. If you need to sweep up the dirt, leaves and twigs that are littering your garden. Just grab some trimmed branches from a near-by bush and tie them to a stick and voila! Instant broom. The gardeners use these, the street cleaners in the city and the little old widow ladies in the small villages. I just think it is neat.
This is the gazebo and coi pond in the middle of the lower garden. The building behind is the Angra Gardens Hotel. You can get a room with a view of the garden and then walk out the front right into the city square and the walking shopping streets.
They also had some shaped bushes. There was a teapot, a chair, a basket and a few others that weren't quite filled out yet. the kids all wanted a picture sitting in the chair bush. So here you go.
Then finally I got them to slow down long enough for a group picture but by this time Zach was asleep walking around with Daddy. "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit", right?
